Credit for Non-Traditional Learning and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Credit 

Wallace State Community College awards limited credit for advanced placement, challenge examination, CLEP and DANTES examinations, ACE, armed forces and service schools training, and certain professional certification. The maximum credit earned from non-traditional sources that may be applied toward the associate degree or certificate program is twentyfive (25) percent of the total semester hours. Non-traditional credit is not posted on a student’s transcript until the student is enrolled. The non-traditional credit awarded may not count toward the 25% of WSCC coursework necessary for graduation. Questions may be directed to the WSCC Registrar at 256.352.8238.

Students may earn credit through non-traditional sources such as:

Advanced Placement (AP)
1. WSCC recognizes a number of Advanced Placement courses that are taken in high school and supplemented by satisfactory scores on the National Examination of the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Advanced Placement Program.
2. WSCC will accept AP scores of 3 or above.
3. The student is responsible for having the scores sent to the Office of Admissions.
4. Evaluation will be conducted at the time of receiving scores and will not be evaluated at a later time.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
1. The CLEP exams are given by appointment in the testing office. The exams also may be taken at other colleges and sent to WSCC.
2. A minimum score of 50 is required. Some courses may have higher minimum scores. See following list of acceptable courses and scores.
3. Test scores must be documented by either the official score sheet for the CLEP Exam or by an official transcript from another accredited institution and received in the Office of Admissions.
4. Other institutions may not accept the CLEP exam credit even if it is documented on the WSCC transcript. Student should contact the college to which they plan to transfer for accurate information.

*Level 1 is equivalent to the first two semesters (or eight semester hours) of college-level world language course work.

Credit for Military Training and Educational Experiences Military Training
1. Credit for courses taken while in the military will be evaluated according to nationally recognized guidelines, e.g. Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Services Support (DANTES) and/or American Council on Education (ACE) guidelines.
2. The student is responsible for having the scores sent to the Office of Admissions.
3. Credit for courses with acceptable scores will be posted to the student’s transcript.

Articulation Agreements
1. WSCC has agreements with several school districts whereby the students of their Technical Career Centers may receive credit for the technical courses completed at these locations.
2. The high school graduates who have completed the Career/Technical Program at these high schools, maintained a B average in their high school career/technical core courses, and enrolled at WSCC may receive up to one semester of technical credit as determined by the individual program agreements.
3. Skills tests will be administered by the WSCC Instructors in those programs that require testing.
4. Credit for courses with acceptable scores will be posted to the student’s transcript as transfer credit.

Challenge Exams
1. Approved course exams may be given by the departments to assess skills.
2. Upon successful completion of these exams, credit may be transcribed with an “S” grade upon payment of tuition and fees for the course tested.
3. In certain instances, a waiver of course requirements may be appropriate. The Division Dean will evaluate requests according to curricula and determine whether to waive course requirements.

Portfolios (PLA)
1. Documentable training, certificates, or skills.
2. Comprehensive collection of qualifications.
3. Forms and information are available from WSCC Registrar.
4. Portfolio describes experience and student request review for possible credit.